THE 2000 CAMPAIGN: THE FRESH START; Forbes Buoyed by Success in Iowa

After gaining a solid second-place finish in the Iowa caucuses with the support of Christian conservatives and abortion opponents, Steve Forbes swept enthusiastically across New Hampshire today, trumpeting his anti-tax plan.

At a news conference in Nashua, a factory in Hooksett and a rally tonight at a restaurant in Portsmouth, Mr. Forbes ridiculed what he called the convoluted tax-cut proposals of Gov. George W. Bush and Senator John McCain and emphasized his proposal to scrap the tax code altogether and replace it with a low flat tax.

''That code is going to go in the dustbin of history,'' he told about 150 supporters at the Portsmouth rally.

''We go to the heart of the problem,'' Mr. Forbes said in an interview this afternoon. Mr. Bush and Mr. McCain, he said, are ''the timid twins of taxation.''

The Forbes staff holds that the anti-tax theme will play especially well in a state that has a long tradition of opposing taxation and that has refused to adopt either a state income tax or a sales tax.

''We see Bush and McCain splitting the moderate and liberal vote,'' said Greg Muller, Mr. Forbes's communications director. ''It's a big anti-tax state, and, among conservatives, we will be the clear choice.''

But he is de-emphasizing his strong stand against abortion, which helped him with Christian conservatives in Iowa but is less popular here. Mr. Forbes won 30 percent of the vote in the Iowa caucuses as against 41 percent for Mr. Bush.

''This state is a different arena,'' Mr. Forbes said.

Bill Dal Col, his campaign manager, said, ''With our good showing in Iowa, we are confident that Bush, the liberal, will come in No. 3.''

Mr. Forbes has been endorsed by The Union Leader, New Hampshire's largest and most influential newspaper. The paper's endorsement was instrumental in Patrick J. Buchanan's victory over Bob Dole in the 1996 Republican primary.

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Today, a front-page editorial in The Union Leader proclaimed, ''Forbes is true heir to Reagan's legacy.''

The latest polls show Mr. Forbes with 10 percent to 15 percent of the Republican vote, well behind Mr. Bush and Mr. McCain who who have about 35 percent apiece. Mr. Forbes said he was banking on the record in New Hampshire of many voters making up their minds in the final week before the primary.

In the interview, Mr. Forbes suggested that he would step up his television advertising campaign here. But he refused to say how much he would spend or whether his commercials would directly criticize Mr. Bush and Mr. McCain.

Four years ago, Mr. Forbes's advertisements here included sharp attacks on Mr. Dole, a tactic that may have weakened Mr. Dole and contributed to his defeat in the Republican primary. Mr. Forbes finished a distant fourth in that race with 12 percent of the vote.

In Iowa this year, his advertisements criticized Mr. Bush but were not nearly as harsh as those against Mr. Dole in 1996.

The only new commercial Mr. Forbes broadcast today did not mention his opponents but showed him in front of a crowd in Iowa with a headline across the screen reading, ''Forbes Finishes Strong Second.''